Recently, my friend Cindy sent me a great video from agility dog trainer Susan Garrett. The video shows Susan shaping two of her dogs to jump on a cooler. Both dogs are eight-year-old border collies owned by Susan. Both dogs are pretty smart pups with an extensive history of training. However, the second dog learns […]
Tag Archives | shaping
Help! My dog does nothing during shaping
“The continuousness of behavior means that the organism can be thought of as always doing something.” In September, I shared this quote on my blog and discussed how it relates to “problem” behaviors. You can find that post here. However, this quote also relates to shaping. If you spend some time on YouTube, you can […]
The shaping funnel: Right-side up and upside down
This post is a continuation of my notes from the 2017 ClickerExpo conferences. This year I had the pleasure of attending both the January and March Expos because Dr. Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and I taught two lab sessions involved the shaping game PORTL. You can find more of my ClickerExpo notes here. How does shaping work? […]
Oh No, Henry! An interview with author Sarah Teske
One thing that has always been an interest of mine is educating children about animals, pet care, and positive training. So, I was thrilled to learn that author Sarah Teske was writing a children’s book that would be a fun, yet educational, way to teach children more about positive training, shaping, and pet adoptions. In […]
Shaping new habits and routines using mini habits
I’m reading an interesting little book that was recommended to me recently by a friend. It’s not about animal training, but it is about changing behavior. I’m only about halfway through the book, but I’m finding it quite thought-provoking so far. You might find it interesting as well! The book is by Stephen Guise and […]
Amy and the bucket trick (video)
Amy is getting to be quite an old rat. However, she still enjoys training time and likes learning new tricks. This is Amy’s latest trick, the bucket trick. A small “bucket” (part of a toothpaste box) hangs on a shoelace. Amy must pull up on the shoelace to get to the bucket and the treats […]